Date: Fri, 7 Sep 2001 20:14:04
From: musicfan@indabox.com
Subject: Where Do We Go #28

Disclaimer:

   The following story is the twenty-seventh installment in an on going
series about Stephen Gately from Boyzone and what I imagine to be the
story behind the beginning of his relationship with Eloy de Jong from
Caught in the Act. I have no contact with either person, nor know any
of the members of either group.

    I also apologise for the lack of updates lately, but sometimes real
life intervenes.  I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

    Cheers!

    Musicfan

####



     Stephen was up early the next morning, eager to meet the rest of
the lads and work out his trip.  After he came out of the shower, he
realized that it was still too early to go knocking on doors.  He
quickly got dressed and paced around the room for a bit before getting
so restless that he decided to go downstairs to the hotel restaurant.
They were just setting up, and let him come in and sit down with a cup
of coffee while they opened up for regular business.

     He read the morning papers as he killed time.  When it seemed like
everyone else was going to sleep in, he just decided to have breakfast
by himself.  He was just finishing up when Keith and Shane came in.
They saw him sitting by himself and wandered on over.

     "Good morning," Stephen said warmly as he pushed the newspapers
out of the way so they could sit down.  "What happened to you last
night?" He asked, looking at Keith.

     "Damned if I know," Keith said ruefully. "I woke up on one of the
sofas downstairs this morning and went up to clean up."  Shane started
laughing and motioned the waitress over so he could place an order.
Keith grabbed the sports section and started reading up on what he had
missed recently in the sporting news.

     Ronan was the next to come down, wearing faded blue jeans and a t-
shirt.  Stephen noted that he was looking extremely chipper after last
night's partying. Everyone winced at his hearty hello as he pulled out
a chair and sat down. He grinned as he saw their reactions.

     "What's wrong lads?  Had a wee too much last night, did you now?"
He pulled the coffeepot over and poured himself a cup.  "Ah," he said
after taking a sip of the black coffee. "Just the way to start the
morning off.  Is it not?" Mumbled responses met his question.  He
grinned again as he flagged down the waitress.

    "I'm starved," he told her as he looked over the menu. "Could I
have the special, please?" He smiled winningly at her and she nodded
eagerly before heading off to the kitchen to put his order in.  Stephen
sat at the table, his chin propped up on one hand as he watched Ronan
torture their band mates.  Ro was always pretty good at recovering the
next morning.  He himself felt rather good, but then he hadn't been
drinking as much as the rest of the lads.  "Where's Mick?" Ro asked.

    The rest of the lads shrugged.  It wasn't until Ronan's breakfast
arrived that Mikey ended up walking through the door.  He had been out
for a run, which is why they hadn't seen him earlier.

    "Mornin'" he said as he sat down next to Shane. "Was wondering when
you sluggards would be up."

    "Hey, I was here before the place opened!" Stephen protested with a
laugh.  "I'm just not the jogging type." He pushed the coffeepot back
towards Mikey who poured himself a cup.  Keith gave him a look of
disgust before going back to his breakfast.  Stephen smiled.  Obviously
Keith wasn't feeling too good and resented that fact that everyone else
wasn't feeling the same.

     They had a nice leisurely breakfast together, joking and laughing
about the evening before.  Stephen decided to wait until everyone had
settled down before broaching the dates for a break.

     Shane was watching him thoughtfully and he made a face at him.
"What?"

     "You.  You're in a good mood this morning.  Just good to see,"
Shane said as he downed the last of his juice.  Stephen shrugged.

     "It's a lovely day is all," he said in response.  "But I did want
to talk to you all about our break and when we might want to take one."

     Keith looked up from his cereal. "Got some dates for us?"

     "As a matter of fact, I do." Stephen admitted.  "But I know Mick
was thinking of a longer break than what I'm looking for, so I figured
I'd see what you were all thinking of in terms of plans."

     Mikey put down his glass and looked around the table. "Well, I'm
kind of hoping for a week or two, if that's all right with everyone
else.  These two or three days just don't cut it for me.  You barely
get home before you're turning around and leaving again."  Everyone
nodded in agreement. "Question is, what can we get away with?"

     Everyone looked at Ronan.  He shrugged.  "Whatever we want to, I
guess.  Why the hell not?  We've gone from album to promo to tour to
album to tour again without much of a break.  I think it's about time,
don't you?"  They nodded again.  "Well, do what you want.  If you want
a couple of weeks, let's do it.  A month?  Why not?"

     "Well, we don't have to go crazy," Mikey said with a smile. "Don't
want to give the old man a heart attack, either."  They all laughed at
Mikey's reference to Louis.  He looked over at Stephen.  "What were you
hoping for?"

     "A couple of days here or there in the next month is all." Stephen
said as he poured himself some more coffee. "E's schedule is pretty
busy right now. So there's only a couple of times we could get together
this month anyhow.  But I'll take it if it's what I can get."

     "Alright Steo.  Lord knows you never ask for anything much.
You'll get your days off," Ronan promised.  He brushed his hair out of
his eyes as he sat back. "Let's see what happens." He pulled out his
mobile and punched in a speed dial number.

     Stephen tried not to hold his breath. He had a feeling that Louis
would be against anything he wanted if he knew why.  Shane patted him
on the back as a reassurance and he smiled over at him.

     "Hey Lou," Ronan said into the phone.  He chatted pleasantly with
Louis for a few minutes while everyone else waited impatiently. Keith
made motions with his hands to speed Ro up.  Finally, Ro broached the
subject of their break and pointed out to Louis that they hadn't had a
decent break for a long time.  He said they wanted a month, and wanted
to work that into the schedule.  He winced and pulled the mobile away
from his ear and let Louis spout off for a bit before listing his
reasons.

      Louis was quiet on the other end and let Ro say his piece.  By
this point Stephen was chewing on his fingernails.  His breakfast was
lying heavily in his stomach and he waited nervously for the
conversation to end.  No one said a word as Ronan went back and forth
with Louis about the album, and the fact that they were taking a break
in the middle of it.

      Finally, he agreed to whatever Louis said on the other end, and
they wrapped up the conversation.  He rung off and reheated his coffee
before telling them what had happened.  None of them spoke as they
watched him intently.  Finally, Keith couldn't take it anymore.

      "Well?" He asked, dying to know what the outcome was.

      "Well." Ronan said as he put his mobile back in his pocket and
sat back with a sigh. "That's done."

      "What did we just agree to?" Mikey asked.  Ronan smiled
sheepishly.

      "Nothing we weren't going to agree to anyhow.  The deal is we get
our time off, and afterwards we go to the States and do some recording
there. Actually, I think this is going to work out great."

      "Where in the States?" Shane asked.  He had a couple of sisters
who lived there.  Ro's brothers and sister lived there as well.
Perhaps they could work some visits over there into it as well.

      "New York.  There's this fantastic studio that Louis has been
busy lining up for us.  He says that he has some people over there that
would love to work with us on the album.  I think it's a fantastic
idea.  Give us a different feel, you know?"  Ro was all excited over
the prospect.

       "How long will we be there for?" Keith asked.

       Ro shrugged. "Dunno.  But who cares? We'll be in New York!  It's
such a hotbed for the music scene these days.  All sorts of blokes have
done their recording there.  It's definitely a good start."

      "Well, as long as we get a break first, I'm not against it,"
Mikey said amicably. "And this should be enough that I'll actually feel
like I will be home for a bit.  Works for me."

      "Me, too." Keith said enthusiastically.  "Wait until Lisa hears
this!" He got up and danced around the table, much to everyone's
amusement before reaching down and giving Stephen a hug.  "And you get
your trip, too! Isn't that grand?"

      Stephen laughed.  "Yeah, it's grand."  He was busily thinking how
he was going to spend the time.  It was a pity that Eloy was going to
be on the road during most of that time, but he wasn't adverse to
popping over more than once to spend some time together, if that was
what Eloy wanted.  He was eager to get upstairs and give him a ring
about it. The rest of the lads talked about finishing up what they had
to do and getting their break started.  They had just about finished
all that they were going to do for the time being at Sarm.  They had
gotten quite a few tracks in the can, so they weren't worried about
that.

     As they left money on the table and made their way upstairs, Shane
draped his arm over Stephen's shoulders.  "Hey, you still with us?"

     Stephen smiled up as his friend.  "Yeah, I'm here.  Just thinking
is all."

     "Yeah, I noticed."  Shane followed him into the elevator and
leaned against the wall.  Stephen looked at him with a slight smile.

     "So, what are you going to do with your time off?"  Stephen asked.
He knew that Shane was always planning some harebrained scheme, usually
designed to turn Louis just a little grayer than he was already.

     "Dunno, actually." Shane replied with a grin.  "I was thinking of
meeting up with some of the lads at Silverstone.  A bloke I know is
going to be racing up there next week.  Wouldn't mind taking a spin or
two around the track with him."  They got out on their floor and Shane
followed Stephen into his room.  "I wouldn't mind having a go at that
kind of thing."

     "Jayz, could you imagine what Louis would say to that?" Stephen
said with a laugh.  They sat down on the sofa and talked for a bit,
with Shane going on to even wilder exploits.  Stephen's side was
hurting, he was laughing so hard.

     Finally, they wound down and looked at each other.  "You are just
too much," Stephen said with a grin.

      "I know," Shane agreed.  "Someone has to be, right?  Might as
well be me."  He watched Stephen for a moment.

      Stephen was watching him warily. "What?"

      "Just thinking." Shane replied.  At Stephen's look of inquiry, he
shrugged.  "Just want to make sure everything's alright with you."

     "It's grand, Shane.  Really it is.  You know me.  Occasionally I
go through a bit of a rough spot, but I always pull through. You know
that."

     "Yeah." Shane sat silent for a moment while he toyed with the end
of his braid. "You're really stuck on him, aren't you?"

     Stephen looked down. "Yeah, I am.  He's the first thing I think
about every morning and the last thing at night.  I never felt anything
like this before, you know?  I've thought I've been in love before, but
you know, now I know that it wasn't the case.  Because this is so
completely different."  He looked up to see Shane nodding. "I'm a
goner, aren't I?"

    "Yup," Shane agreed with a grin.  "Might as well as throw in the
towel now lad, because you're sunk. But you know something?  Go for it.
And don't look back."

    "I know.  And I am. There's no looking back anymore.  We've both
come too far.  Thanks, though.  And I'm really sorry for being such a
bear lately," Stephen apologised.

    "We all do it occasionally.  It's allowed."  Shane stood up and
stretched.  "I'm off to call me mates.  What are you doing today?"

    "Just this one last day in the studio for a while to work on a
couple of songs with Carl. I'm looking forward to it. Hey, thanks."
Stephen said again.   Shane winked as he walked out the door with a
wave.  Stephen sat on the sofa for a bit, thinking over the morning. He
glanced at his watch.  He had just enough time to put in a quick ring
to Eloy before he had to meet Ronan downstairs to head to the studio.
He leaned over to the desk and pulled the phone onto his lap and dialed
Eloy's number.  He chewed on a hangnail as he waited for him to pick up
on the other end.

    "Hallo?" Eloy said as he answered on the fifth ring.  He had just
gotten out of the shower and had a towel wrapped around his waist while
he rubbed his hair dry.

    "Hey," Stephen said softly. "It's me."

    Eloy smiled. "Hey me.  How are you?" He dropped the towel onto the
chair next to the bed and sat down on it.  He reached over to the
dresser and grabbed his hair gel.  Holding the phone to his ear with
his chin, he squeezed some of the gel onto one hand and worked it
through his hair.

    "Just grand.  How are you doing this morning, sweetheart?"  He
itched to tell Eloy the news, but there was a part of him that wanted
to prolong the surprise.

    "Great. Just got out of the shower, actually." Eloy said. He wiped
the excess gel off on the edge of his towel and sat back against the
chair.

    "Oooh, I can just picture that!" Stephen said with a grin. "Oh,
baby!" he growled.  Eloy's answering chuckle reverberated through the
phone line from Amsterdam.

    "Down, boy!" Eloy said. "Can't get you too excited or you'll make a
mess again."  He waited for the inevitable reaction and as the silence
lengthened on the other end he realised that Stephen was spluttering on
the other end.

    On his side of the conversation, Stephen was speechless. He always
felt like he could never come back with a good response when Eloy made
comments like that. "As if!" was all he could come up with.

    "I'm sorry, honing. But it's just so easy to set you off," Eloy
apologised. He tried to muffle his laughter without much success.

    "Yeah, I know," Stephen agreed wryly. "And you do it every time to
me.   Well, to teach you a lesson, I'm going to ring off now and not
talk to you anymore."  He had no intention of doing it, but the threat
sounded good to him.

    "I'm sorry!" Eloy said again.  "Please don't go. We get so little
time together.  I'm sorry."

    Stephen felt bad that he had made the threat. "Ah, I'm only
joshing.  Like I would ever hang up on you!"

    "Whew," Eloy said with a sigh of relief before changing the
subject. "What is your day like today?"

    "Not too bad. Going into the studio to finish off some tracks that
we had started.  Don't know if they'll go in the album, but better to
have too much than not enough.  How about you?"

    "Well, I meet up with the rest of the group down at a tv studio
here to record a segment for some show. Then it's on to take some
pictures for one of those magazines.  Some days, it seems like it never
ends, you know?" Eloy sighed.

    "Yeah, I do know," Stephen said with a sigh of his own.  "I'm sure
you have to get ready soon, but I wanted to give you a ring and let you
know that I've got some time off."

    "Have you?" Eloy asked, perking up.  "When?"

    "Whenever you want," Stephen said.  "We're taking a month. The rest
of the lads want some decent time to spend with their families.  So I
can just work my trip around your schedule.  How's that?"

    Eloy was busily thinking about the weeks ahead. "Damn, I wish I
wasn't doing all this promotion right now.  Does that mean you can come
out for both breaks?" He held his breath. "That is, if you want to come
over twice."

    "Well, that's what I'm planning on. And I guess spend some time
with my family.  My sister would crucify me otherwise." Stephen said
with a laugh.

    "I suppose that would work," Eloy replied. He was thrilled that
Stephen was finally coming over for a visit and now that it was finally
going to happen, he wanted to make sure that everything went well. "I'm
so glad this is finally working out."

    "Me, too.  Well, it's certainly taken long enough.  I think I'm
ready.  How about you?" Stephen asked.

    "Ja, very much so!" Eloy agreed heartily. "More than long enough!
Alright, do you want to handle the flights on your end, or would you
like me to look into it for you?"

    "Nah, I can do it. What's the best time to fly in?" Stephen knew
that coordinating this wasn't going to be easy. Especially when dealing
with travel and fans.

    "Hold on a second," Eloy said as he got up and went into the living
room.  On the table in front of the sofa he had all sorts of papers
lying around with itineraries for the group.  He sorted through them
until the found the week he was looking for.  "I'm looking at the
schedule now. The good thing about this first break is that it's local.
So if you want to come in the night of the eighth, that might work out
well.  Then we can spend the next two days together before I have to
head out to Norway for some promotion. From there, it's back to back
running around until weekend of the twenty second."

    "Sounds good to me, E." Stephen said as he jotted down some notes.
"Let me see what I can come up with on my end and I'll let you know.
But we can plan definitely on the eighth once I figure out when I'm
coming in.  How's that?"

    "Great, Stephen. You've just made my day," Eloy responded. "And
speaking of which, if I don't get some clothes on, I'm going to be
late."

    "Ah well, far me it for me to be the one who kept you naked,"
Stephen said with a laugh.  "Though honestly, I think you look great
like that."

    "Danke, liefste. You are too kind to me." Eloy said with an
answering laugh.

    "Not me," Stephen said. "Alright, I should let you go. Or you'll
never get those clothes on.  Not that I mind, you know."

    "Well, when you get here, I'll stay as naked as you want." Eloy
promised as he headed back to the bedroom.  He opened up his closet and
started going through the clothes there as he tried to find something
he wanted to wear for the day.  He discarded several choices before
settling on a shirt and dress slacks.

    "Oh, you start that and I'll be on a plane before you could blink!"
Stephen exclaimed. He knew that Eloy was teasing him, but he didn't
mind.  "Here I go, heading out the door!"

    Eloy laughed.  "Come right on over, honing.  I'll be here." He
paused as he pulled the phone away and pulled the shirt over his head.
"I love talking to you, but we're both going to be late if we keep this
up."

    "Yeah, I know," Stephen said with a soft sigh. "Ro will be banging
on my door in a minute if I don't get downstairs soon myself.  Anyhow,
when I get a chance later on, I'll check with the airlines and let you
know what I find.  How's that sound?"

    "Absolutely fantastic, zusje." Eloy said warmly. "Give me a call
tonight when you find out anything.  I'll have my mobile with me."

    "Sounds good to me."  Stephen said. "Love you, and have a good
day."

    "Love you right back," Eloy said. "And you have a goed day in the
studio."

    "Thanks, I will." Stephen said as he rung off. He sat still for a
moment with the phone still in his hand while he thought about whom he
had to talk about tickets.  A knock on the door startled him out of his
reverie and he got up to answer the door.  As he had expected, it was
Ronan.

    "All set?" Ro asked.

    "Yeah, I'm ready."  Stephen grabbed a baseball hat and his key as
he walked out the door and followed Ro downstairs.  They took the
stairs two at a time.

    "Did you call your fella?" Ro asked. He glanced over his shoulder
as he turned down the next flight of stairs and saw Stephen nodding to
him. "Are you all set then?"

    "Just about," Stephen answered him. "I just have to look into
finding what flights are available." He bounced down the stairs behind
Ronan.  He found that he had a lot of new energy.  It was amazing the
difference it all made.  "Hey, Ro?" He put out a hand to stop Ro before
they went out into the lobby.

    "Yeah?" Ro turned around as Stephen came off the last step.  He
could see the change himself, and he was happy that things were looking
up for Stephen.

    "I just wanted to thank you," Stephen said. "This means a lot to
me. Thanks for dealing with Louis, and for convincing him about this."
He looked up at his band mate.  Ro was smiling.

    "Don't worry about it Steo. I'm happy I could help." Ronan said. "I
think it's long past time that you got someone for your own, and if I
can help things out, all the better. Just enjoy yourself, okay?"

    Stephen nodded.  "Yeah, okay. Wanted to say thanks though."

    "Your welcome.  Make the most of it, because I'm sure Louis going
to make us pay for this break," Ronan said with a laugh.  "C'mon now.
We're going to be late."  He wrapped his arm around Stephen's shoulder
and pulled him towards the door.  As the exited into the lobby, Ronan
nudged Stephen and pointed to a group of girls standing in the lobby
and watching the elevators.  "Will you look at that."

    "Mmm," Stephen noted. "Maybe it's Tom Jones again?" Ro gave him a
puzzled look and he softly explained that he had ducked in the back
door one night thinking the crowd outside was for him when in actuality
it had been for Tom Jones.  Ro's laugh drew the attention of the fans
and they made a beeline for the two band members as they made their way
across the lobby.

    Both Ronan and Stephen were happy to sign autographs and pose for a
few pictures.  One girl started crying upon meeting Stephen and he took
a few moments to calm her down.  It bothered him to see them get
hysterical like that and he usually went out of his way to make sure
that they were okay.  And to show that he was just an ordinary bloke
that they could walk up to and talk to.  Ro got impatient after a bit
as he saw the time passing.

     "Steo, we're late."  He said softly with another look at his
watch.

     "Yeah, I know," Stephen said.  "Okay, one last picture. Who will
it be?" Several girls crowded around them and they posed for a few
pictures before Barrie came across and pulled them out of the group.
Stephen was still waving as he got in the people mover and headed off
to the studio with Ro.

    As they pulled away from the curb he sat back with a sigh. He was a
bit surprised to see Mikey in the seat across from Ro.

    "Hey, didn't know you were coming in!" He said with a big grin on
his face.  Mikey smiled back at him.  Usually when Stephen smiled like
that, it was pretty infectious.

    "I'm going to work on some stuff in the other studio, and then come
in for some of the harmony parts," he explained.  His guitar was
sitting on the seat next to him and he shifted it to a more secure
position as they rounded a corner.

    "Grand," Stephen said.  He pulled his mobile out and searched
through his phone list.  Finding the number he wanted, he punched the
speed dial.  He was calling the office that coordinated their travel.
Once he got on the line with Tammy, he told her he was looking to do a
little vacation for a couple of days in Amsterdam.  Ronan grinned at
him as he listened in on Stephen's half of the conversation. She
promised to look into flights for when he wanted and get back to him.
He rung off and sat back with a sigh.

    "You know something?" Ro asked. "You've got the silliest grin on
your face right now."  Stephen was a bit embarrassed but shrugged it
off. "Hey I'm not complaining, Steo!  I think it's great.  Really I
do."

    Mikey nodded in agreement.  "Yeah, it's long past time for you to
enjoy yourself.  Enjoy it."  They stopped the conversation as they
pulled through the gates of the studio and up to the back door.  "Well,
here we are."

    "Yup, time to get to work!" Ro said as he jumped out the door.
"Let's go."